"Yang Hyun Suk-hyung personally called me last night. You're currently working with one of his artist, correct? Blackpink, isn't it? I don't remember correctly. He heard that you and her, along with another one from SM are close. So he asked me to tell you," Park Jin Young cleared his throat for whispering far too long, "that you shouldn't talk or communicate in any way with her during Gaon."

Jinyoung glanced at his boss while his brain processed the information.

"You can't even glance, or smile at her. Don't show too much reaction towards her performance. No contact, whatsoever. Even when there were no cameras or fans around. He said the same thing to the manager of that SM artist. Can you do that, Jinyoung?"

Jinyoung laughed slightly, amused about several things. First, the fact that his words sounded more like a scolding than a friendly reminder. Second, the fact that YG had asked the favor directly from JYP himself. An indirect ultimatum.

So Jinyoung decided to play along. "Don't worry, hyung. These things are normal, we have to avoid scandals as much as possible."

Park Jin Young smiled. "Yang Hyun Suk is my friend, and I don't want this relationship be broken by scandals." He suddenly turned serious, walked closer to Jinyoung, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Apparently he heard rumors, spreading inside his company that his female artists are close with other celebrities from different companies. So he took a drastic measure to prevent anything, especially since that Blackpink is a new group."

"Yes, hyung. I understand." Jinyoung nodded firmly. He thought his boss was finished with him but Park Jin Young's hand was still holding his shoulder.

"But," Park Jin Young paused, "you and that Blackpink member, there is absolutely nothing going on between you two, right?" Park Jin Young's voice got even quieter. Jinyoung had to lean more towards his boss to hear him clearly.

"Nothing, hyung. We have a professional relationship." Jinyoung lied. For a while, Park Jin Young stared straight at Jinyoung's eyes, as if he was trying to find a glimpse of lies but Jinyoung was too good of an actor. 

"Alright, as expected from you. That's why I put you and Jaebum in GOT7. You two are always trustworthy. But then again, we should really stay away from YG artists, even outside the awards show or other events. Yang Hyun Suk didn't take scandals lightly, especially dating scandals." Park Jin Young gave Jinyoung a light squeeze on his shoulder before he excused himself and walked towards Twice makeup room. 

Jinyoung let go the breath he didn't realize he held. Isn't it too late now?  Whatever he had with Jisoo, it was still counted as something. Their relationship blurred the line between friends and lovers—they were more than friends but less than lovers, like how people called it. Because friends wouldn't text each other that often. Because friends wouldn't call each other all night until one of them gave in to sleep. Because friends shouldn't have feelings for each other. 

Otherwise, someone might get hurt. 

Jinyoung sighed. This was his cue. To stop whatever he had with Jisoo before both of them got hurt. The sooner I know, the better, he thought as he kept replaying what Park Jin Young said. 

It started as a simple crush. It should remain that way.

~

All GOT7 members were led to their table, right beside the extended stage. Beside their table was Twice's big round table. Bambam, who was sitting closest to Twice's table, began conversing and joking with Nayeon . Jackson's attention was still at his ridiculous Saint Laurent polkadot bow, asking Jaebum and Mark, who were sitting beside him, over and over again if he should just take it off. 

And Jinyoung. Jinyoung kept quiet the entire time, accompanied by his foul mood.

"Hyung, don't you think this looks a bit ridiculous?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I thought that ribbon is for girls." Jaebum truthfully replied, since their stylists were no longer around. Jackson pursed his lips.

"Ah, hyung, but my outfit will look too bland without a bow." Jackson argued, making Jaebum laughed at his misfortune. Mark, on the other hand, didn't really care at all. "I prefer your outfit, ah, jinjja, why do I have to agree with this bow." Jackson whined.

Jaebum talked again since Mark wouldn't give Jackson any reaction. "Yah, stylists-noonas aren't here. Take it off, man, it's fine." 

Again, Jackson made a face. "Ah, jinjja. Why do I have to look weird now when there are so many people to impress."

Jinyoung who was listening to their conversation finally had enough.

"Hyung, take it off if you hate it so much. Why do you keep fussing around." Jinyoung snapped, too serious for his liking. Jackson and Jaebum gasped, quickly turned their heads to look at Jinyoung. Jackson, in particular, got triggered.

"Yah, what's with you? Why are you suddenly in such a bad mood?" Being the most sensitive member, he noticed how different Jinyoung after PD-nim talked to him. 

Agreeing with Jackson, Jaebum also turned to look at Jinyoung but the younger man didn't say anything back. Sensing his uneasiness, Jaebum whispered to him. "Tell me once we finish this show." He only nodded.

Just then, the source of his foul mood appeared. Jinyoung saw Blackpink members walking towards their table, which was on the left side of the extended stage, just in front the main stage. At first, he tried to play with his phone to avoid looking at Jisoo but, as if his body had been programmed, his eyes automatically searched for her and found that Jisoo was also looking at him, giving him a small smile. He was about to smile back but he then remembered what his CEO told him beforehand. He quickly turned away, acting as if she was a stranger. 

He looked away for a few minutes, and he glanced again at her only to find her still secretly glancing at him with an innocent look. This girl didn't know anything. Maybe YG didn't tell her about this, he thought. However, he couldn't deny that her smile lifted his mood a little bit. Like a little bandage that covered a big wound, in his heart. Since the cameras had yet to start filming and fans had yet to take a video, he let himself go for a while. He gazed at her back.

On the other side, Blackpink had finally found their table. They sat while they looked around, feeling nervous since they hadn't been in many awards show. There were many senior artists, and there were a lot of fans coming (although most of them were Exo-L or Army). 

"As we've expected, BTS-sunbaenim's fans are incredible." Jennie commented, as she checked the audience area. 

"I'm a bit nervous, will there be anyone cheering for us during our performance?" Rose muttered. Lisa nodded slowly, overhearing her friend's worry.

"We've got to show everyone what we've got! Hwaiting!" Jisoo comforted the group before she viewed the audience area. Sangwon-unnie had forewarned them that there would be some fans with super-zoom cameras, ready to take a video of their reaction so they had to take caution on whatever they did. YG had personally asked the event committee to give them a table that prevented them to get recorded but some fans could be too persistent. Especially you, don't try to look for Jinyoung. Fans are smarter than you think, they are very observant. You can stare at him all you want during Inkigayo but not there, Sangwon-unnie said. 

I guess that's why Jinyoung avoided me just now, she thought. She failed, though, since she smiled and looked at him as soon as her eyes found him. She could only hope no fans took a video of her obvious gesture.

Jisoo remembered how he looked today. He looked nice, man in suit was always her favorite. She imagined what would it be like if they were an official celebrity couple, they would come to awards show hand in hand, get photographed together, interview together..

"I saw Jaebum just now." Jisoo woke up from her dream when Jennie tapped her shoulder. 

"And?"

"He is soooooo handsome!" Jennie tried hard to contain her squeal. Jisoo chuckled, finally Jen, you know how it feels to have a crush on a handsome idol. 

"He is. Not as handsome as my Jinyoung, though." Jisoo whispered.

"Wait, I didn't see you interact with him. Did something happen? He didn't even look at you." Jennie suddenly changed the topic. Jisoo's face fell.

"Maybe he doesn't want his fans to see him interact with female idols."

"Jinjjayo? I saw Bambam and Lisa waved to each other, though? And Bambam also casually talked with some Twice members. I really saw!" Jennie provoked Jisoo, who was already frowning. Jisoo sighed, becoming a bit confused. She took her phone, typing a message to Jinyoung.

Jisoo (6:50PM):
Hi, I saw you just now! For your performance, hwaiting! I'll be watching.

But no matter how long she waited, Jinyoung didn't reply.

~

The awards night had just started but Blackpink was already called to come on stage for winning an award. Not only once, but twice since they topped the chart on specific months, bagging two trophies just in the first half of the event. Though he couldn't react much, but he was proud of Jisoo. He knew how much she had worked hard through their late night phone calls. He remembered her stories about Blackpink's choreographer, who wasn't really fond of her. She told him that the only source of strength was the smile of her fans every time she performed, and she shared her silent cry when she battled the mean comments she received on the internet. But here she was, receiving awards that definitely proved all the haters wrong. 

Not only Blackpink, Twice also won several awards. Being in the same company, he felt proud and happy for them. Though he was starting to wonder whether GOT7 would ever be called to the stage that night. 

"I would like to say thank you for JYP entertainment. And also to Twice members, who are so pretty and nice, that made it easy and fun to style them. Thank you so much for the award!" Twice stylist, Choi Hui-Seon made her winning speech for winning the best stylist of the year. 

Jinyoung clapped his hand, while the cameraman showed his face on the big screen. He stayed unbothered, smiling slightly until suddenly the lights dimmed. An intro came out and Jinyoung knew full well which song was it.

Blackpink's "Whistle" intro started, giving the dark venue an eerie vibe, meanwhile the screen showed the silhouette of the girls. Fans were cheering behind him and Jinyoung had to maintain his composure. He had to look calm, while he also wanted to clap as hard as he wanted, cheering for Jisoo. He tried hard to control his lips so they wouldn't smile, and he had to trained his eyes not to constantly gaze at Jisoo.

But damn him. The moment she danced, he couldn't take his eyes off her. 

And when he saw Bambam jamming to Lisa's rap, he was about to lose his self-control. Why did he have to control himself when Bambam was here not caring a bit about anything else. 

From the corner of his eyes, he saw EXO and BTS danced along the song. Suddenly, he felt everything was not fair. He wanted to give his reaction, too, that he was happy to see her perform live for the first time after they knew each other. And he was pained by the fact that she might get upset to see his disappointing reaction. 

Their eyes met several times, although GOT7 table was a bit far from the main stage, but her eyes were fixed at him every time she danced on the right side. And then, it became more difficult when Blackpink performed on the extended stage. Jinyoung had to maintain himself not to move his head too much. Literally, he only moved his eyeballs, from the stage and the main screen, which sometimes displayed the face of her beautiful colleague. This is more tiring than performing.

When the performance ended, everyone clapped in excitement, especially since the next performance was Mamamoo. Youngjae, sitting beside Jinyoung, talked to him. "Hyung, your colleague's group was jinjja daebak. No wonder they won the rookie award, they didn't look like a rookie group at all. Bambam's Thai friend had a really nice stage presence, don't you think?"

Jinyoung nodded, agreeing with him. Jaebum also poked him and whispered, "yah, I saw you looking at Jisoo all the time." He before laughing. 

Jinyoung shot him a deadly glare. 

They aren't wrong.

~

Blackpink won another award, their third award for the night, and this time, Jisoo almost cried on stage, still wondering if everything was a dream. From the stage, she glanced at the other idols who were clapping for them. BTS was always very excited cheering for them (and for every group who won), but she also saw Nayeon stood up and applauded. 

And Jinyoung. Jinyoung was only staring at her with no expression. 

There was a slight disappointment inside her heart but she still smiled nevertheless. 

The show went on, but she couldn't forget the uneasy feeling she had on Jinyoung's weird action towards her. He was cold, he didn't smile at her, not even once, even when she performed on stage. As much as she tried to understand his intention, her negative thoughts began to cloud her minds. What if...I did something wrong? What if he...suddenly thought that I wasn't a good performer? No, Jinyoung was a good person, he is too nice to downgrade people..

"GOT7!!!!!!! Congratulations!" Suddenly a loud cheer brought her back from her thought. 

Jisoo saw GOT7 members went up the stage. When Jaebum was giving a speech, Jennie suddenly turned her head to her.

"Wow." Jennie said, amazed.

"Nice voice." Jisoo acknowledged. Jennie nodded at her. 

When Ahgases were cheering for GOT7, Jennie turned her head to see that GOT7's fans were together in one area, sticking out their green light sticks proudly. 

"Jisoo, look. Their light sticks color is so nice. Green!" 

"I hope we get to have a beautiful light stick, too." Jisoo replied before both of them faced the stage again, listening to the rest of the speech. 

As expected of GOT7, they delivered speeches in different languages. When the MC asked Bambam to deliver a speech in Thai language, Lisa was overjoyed and laughed at him, as she was probably one of few people who understood the speech. Jackson also gave a speech in Mandarin.

"寶寶們，謝謝你們一直這麼支持我們。謝謝你們花了這麼多時間，這麼多精力，就是每分每秒那麼愛我們。在未來的日子裡面會更努力。謝謝你們，很愛你們"

"Woah, they really can speak in so many languages." Jennie whispered to Jisoo but when she looked up, she saw a camera was pointing at them, a huge, super-zoom camera to be exact. When the fans realized that Jennie had seen her, she quickly put her super camera down. Jennie saw that the camera was no longer there, whispered to Blackpink.

"One person is recording us. Let's be more careful." 

After they realized they were being recorded, Blackpink members became a bit more composed. They didn't give too much reaction when male idols were performing, or when male idols received an award though they were a bit more supportive when female idols performed. 

But when GOT7 performed, they couldn't contain their squeals. All of them. Lisa, Rose, Jennie, and Jisoo. Especially Jisoo because even from the start, Jinyoung's voice was echoing inside the arena. Lisa was excited to see Bambam's performance, while Jennie and Rose got excited because they got to see their mutual friends perform. 

Jaebum's voice started the song "Fly" and Jisoo was sure that all girls melted by the sight of a fine man. She glanced at Jennie who was already too immersed in his voice. She knew that GOT7 had always been an excellent performer: their dance, their vocals, and their expressions would amaze the audience, well, even listening to Jinyoung's humming a song in Inkigayo MC waiting room was enough to know that this group was talented. To think that Jinyoung was only a lead vocalist, could you imagine the voice of the main vocal? 

When it was Jinyoung's turn to sing, Rose unconsciously glanced and smiled at Jisoo to but Jennie immediately nudged her. Rose turned her head quickly, remember that they couldn't give any suspicious reaction. Jisoo tried not to smile, and she saw that Jennie was doing the same thing. 

They only overreacted at the fireworks, and Jisoo swore they would've never sat next to the main stage again. 

But throughout the performance, Jisoo could only look at Jinyoung, and only paid attention to his voice. And at the fact that he didn't even look at her, even though she was right in front of the main stage, even though she was RIGHT in front of him, stirred her emotion. For the entire night, he was being cold at her, acting as if they were strangers. Or professional colleague. Damn, the thought scared her. 

At the end of GOT7 performance, suddenly Jennie and Jisoo saw Yugyeom smiled and she was shocked to find that he was smiling and pointing at Rose.

"What? What was that, Rose?" Jennie asked Rose. Jisoo joined her. "Did Yugyeom just smiled at you?"

"Well.." Rose trailed off. Lisa was already laughing. She definitely knew something. 

"Rose, you sneaky b*tch." Jennie cussed at her though she smiled ear to ear. "You two. You'd better spill the bean when we go home!" Jennie told the maknae line.

Jisoo, on the other hand, was feeling so jealous her heart could burst. What was that? Her eyes never lied: Yugyeom clearly threw Rose a sweet smile.

But Jinyoung didn't even look at her.

~

When the show ended and the idols had finished taking a group photo, they approached their respective managers. Idols had to wait in the backstage before they could get in their vans, since the guards had to secure the way first. They had to leave one by one, with EXO and BTS leaving the arena first to avoid further chaos. 

Jisoo saw Jinyoung with the rest of GOT7 and TWICE. There were no fans and cameras filming them so why didn't he even say hi to her? Or at least smiled at her direction. Quietly, she kept glancing at Jinyoung, hoping that she would catch him looking at her at the same time. 

Not at all. All she could see was that GOT7 was talking with TWICE, being the loudest groups in the room, laughing and clapping all the way. She observed how Jackson, Bambam, and Yugyeom were talking to Nayeon and Jungyeon, teasing each other like a family. Jinyoung was talking with Jaebum, whispering to each other's ears. 

Jisoo frowned when Bambam and Yugyeom waved at Lisa and Rose. While Jennie squealed and smacked Rose's arm, Jisoo looked down. 

At this point, his attitude was no longer normal. 

Not only Jinyoung, she tried to greet Doyoung but the younger boy only threw her a quick smile and walked away. Did I do something bad? She mentally slapped herself. No, Jisoo. Stop your negative thinking. Nothing is wrong.

While s were talking with TWICE, Jaebum took the time to ask Jinyoung about the reason Park Jin Young called him before the event. They talked quietly, not letting anyone eavesdrop. 

"YG told PD-nim I couldn't interact with Jisoo, in any way. Not even a smile. It doesn't stop right there, he told us to stay away from his female artists."

"I see. No wonder you're being so cold. She was always looking at you, Jinyoung. And it wasn't just a look. There was this....longing gaze in her eyes. At this point, I know what your concern is."

"Don't take it the wrong way, hyung. We are close, but we are not in that kind of relationship."

"Doesn't mean she won't have feelings for you." Jaebum argued, but he got no reply from Jinyoung. In truth, he already knew that what they had was special. He knew that Jisoo kept watching him when he performed. He glanced worriedly at her every time the fireworks scared her, but he looked away whenever she was back watching him again. How he wished..

Suddenly, a staff called GOT7 since it was their turn to leave. Meaning that Jinyoung had to walk pass Blackpink members, who were standing next to the exit door. 

He dwelled in dilemma if he should greet her, or if he should act as if he didn't see her. His conflicting mind finally gave in as he looked back at her, and their eyes met. For a few seconds, they were standing side by side, staring straight at each other's eyes.

At that moment, Jinyoung saw her smiling at him, with that beautiful heart-shaped lips of hers. In the back of his head, he wanted to smile back at her, to apologize and explain the reason why he was giving her a cold shoulder. He wanted to hold her hand, even for a second just to tell that he didn't intend to make her sad, that he was still her Jinyoung, a friend she could rely on whenever she needed him. At that moment, these thoughts were swirling inside his mind.

But in reality, he just looked at her coldly and walked pass her. Just like that.

----------

Okay, some of you might smack me for this twist.

Anyway, I mentioned some fun facts for everyone and I thought it was fun so let me do it again!

Fun facts:

1. Some of the reactions are real! Especially when Blackpink reacts to GOT7. Have you seen the fancam? If you're interested, check these out!

Blackpink reaction to GOT7 performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C-itcwAcB8

Blackpink reaction to GOT7 winning speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JmLjmNmJzk

2. This is just a speculation but Yugyeom might really smile at Rose at the end of GOT7 performance. When Yugyeom smiled, Rose acted so flustered. It was sooo cute!

3. Jennie's reaction to Jaebum's speech was also real. She looked so interested.

4. Since I can speak Chinese, I can understand Jackson's speech. Here's the translation: Baby (referring to Ahgases) thank you for always supporting us. Thank you for spending a lot of time and effort, every minute every second, (you guys) really love us. In the future we will be more hardworking. Thank you, really love you guys. 

Thank you for reading. Also thank you for those who voted my story! 

I know I'm a bit slow, since this event is on February 22nd, 2017, meaning there is still a loooong way of interaction between them. I just hope you guys like my detailed interpretation of their moments. More to come!